The Pierce Way
by Theresa82
Summary: First in "The Pierce Sisters" series. AU: The Pierce twins Elena and Katherine come back to their home town of Mystic Falls were they died 150 years ago. One wants to live as a human, but the other has more sinister motives. Elena's eye is caught by a boy in school who's older brother is determined to figure out the town's secret. Stelena, Delena-endgame.
1. New Friend

A/N- So this is an AU idea I got while rewatching and I had to try it out. Let me know if you like the idea and if you want to see more. I may or may not continue this story. Anyway, let me know what you think and if you have any ideas for how this could continue, I would love to hear them.

* * *

_Sometimes, Elena was okay with being a vampire. She had been one for almost 150 years and she had survived quite a lot in that time. But other times, all she wanted was to be human. That's why she came back. Mystic Falls was where she had lived as a human before all of this, and it was where she was going to do it now. She was determined. She was going to make friends. She was going to go to classes. And she was going to be as human as she possibly could._

_At least, that was what she was planning on doing. What actually happened turned out to be a very different story._

* * *

Stefan ran down the stairs and out the front door, grabbing an apple on the way out.

"Have fun in school brother." Damon called from the living room.

"Oh, I will." Stefan replied, knowing just how to respond to his older brother's mocking. He walked down the front steps and jumped into his brother's blue 69' camaro. He knew his brother hated it when he took his car, but it was the only ride he had to school, and he knew Damon could walk to both the mechanic shop, where he worked, and the Mystic Grill without too much of a problem.

Stefan drove to school and parked the car, preparing himself for the first school day of the year. It was his junior year. He only had to make it two more years and then he was free. Getting out of the car he noticed his friends standing around and jogged over to join them.

Matt patted him on the shoulder. "Hey man, how are you doing?"

Stefan smiled, "Great, how about you?"

"I'm good. I got a job at the Grill this summer and Jeremy here," Matt nudged Jeremy in the arm, "got an offer from a publishing company for an internship as a cover artist."

Stefan turned to Jeremy, impressed. "Really? Nice. And you're only a little sophomore."

"Hey! I'm only one year younger then you guys." Jeremy defended himself against Stefan's teasing.

The bell rang, letting the boys know they only had a few more minutes to get to class. They headed inside.

Stefan sat down in his first class next to Matt. Caroline walked in and surveyed the room. She spotted Tyler and sat down behind her longtime boyfriend, throwing a quick glance in the direction of Matt. Much to Matt's dismay, this glance wasn't quick enough and Stefan noticed. "What's that about?" he asked his friend.

Matt shrugged his shoulders, trying to play it off. "Nothing."

"That wasn't nothing, she glanced at you while sitting down next to her boyfriend."

"It was just a glance, Stefan, it wasn't anything more."

Stefan knew there was something Matt wasn't telling him, but he decided not to push it.

As the majority of the class settled into their seats, a new girl walked in. She had straight brunette hair, and was more beautiful than anything else Stefan had ever seen. He quickly realized he was staring and looked away, but the damage had been done.

"What was that?" Matt asked. "Love at first sight?" Matt wiggled his eyebrows at Stefan.

"That was nothing. Just like the glance from Caroline was nothing." Stefan had to admit, it wasn't his best comeback, but at least it would mean that Matt couldn't make fun of him without leaving himself open to be made fun of as well.

Matt shook his head. "Okay."

The girl glanced around the room, and took a seat. She had a presence about her. Stefan couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something about the girl that gave off the vibe that she was in control. She was powerful, and not to be messed with.

Stefan's attention was torn away from the girl as the teacher began to talk.

* * *

Elena had done it. She had made it through her first day of school at Mystic Falls. She had even managed to make a new friend. Caroline Forbes had been sitting next to her in her first class and had stuck to her for the rest of the day like glue. Caroline was kind, if not a bit talkative and somewhat shallow in her interests, but Elena liked her. She was normal and the fact that she did most of the talking for the both of them meant that Elena didn't have to answer to many questions she didn't really have an answer for.

She pulled her car up to the foreclosure that she had found at the edge of town and walked inside, putting her bag down on the kitchen table.

She didn't notice the second vampire standing in the corner, watching her as she pulled out a blood bag from the fridge.

The vampire in the corner smirked and laughed quietly to herself. _This was going to be so much fun._


	2. August 20th 1864

AN - Hey guys, so I know this is really short but I wanted to give you something while I worked on the current day plot. I'm having a lot of fun writing this AU and I hope you are enjoying it, although not much has happened yet. Reviews are always wanted, and just let me know if anyone seems too OOC because I know how that can ruin a fic. As always, I don't own any of the characters from The Vampire Diaries. Hope you enjoy this little teaser!

* * *

August 20th 1864:

"I want to be with you forever." Katherine whispered to Elijah who lay next to her in the bed. "Turn me."

Elijah rolled over to face her and propped his head up. "You don't understand what you are asking for, Katherine. Eternity. It's not something to be taken lightly. It's a curse."

"I don't want to be just a human anymore. Humans are weak. They don't know what power is. But you do." She brushed a stray hair away from his face. "I can see the power you have, the things you know, the things you have seen. That's what I want."

Elijah sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, standing up. "No, Katherine." He looked back at her, imploring her to understand. "It has been torture. The pain I have had to endure. The heartbreak. And my brother would never allow it. He . . . he is selfish. For me to turn you . . He would see that as a betrayal." He finished his speech and turned to pull on his pants and shirt. "I won't do it Katherine. I won't give this curse to anyone, especially you." This was final.


	3. The Bonfire

A/N - Hello again. I think I have figured out where I want this story to head and I have some ideas as to how it is going to get there. Hopefully this chapter will help clarify some things and really start to get the plot rolling. As you will notice, I have taken some ideas/plots from the show and mashed them with this story to put my own twist on them in order to get them to fit into this AU better. There will be some very familiar scenes and some totally new ones.

I have also decided that at least at the beginning I am going to alternate between the present and past every other chapter. That way hopefully you won't have to wait too long between chapters.

Shout out to Anna Lane for reviewing. Enjoy!

* * *

Elena's phone rang and she put it up to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hey Elena, it's Caroline. So I can't believe I didn't mention this today in school, I mean, I must have been so excited to have a new student that I forgot. Oh well, anyway there is this tradition that we do here in Mystic Falls on the first day of the school year. We have this bonfire out next to the woods and _everybody_ comes. I want you to come. Will you?"

"Will I . . . Come?" Elena repeated, trying to make sure she was answering the right question. Caroline was hard to keep up with sometimes, even with Elena's vampire speed.

"Yeah. Will you come? I mean, there are still a lot of people I have to introduce you too, and . ." She hesitated.

"And what?" Elena asked.

"Well, I'm not sure if I'm supposed to tell you this, but it's pretty obvious anyway, so I'm just gonna spill. Stefan Salvatore has his eye one you."

Elena thought back through her day at school, trying to remember who Stefan Salvatore was. "Oh . . kay" Elena replied drawing the word out.

"No Elena, you don't understand Stefan is like, gorgeous. I tried to get him to go out with me a while ago, but it didn't really work out. Anyway, he is like, the boy in school everyone wants, while he mostly keeps to himself. You know, quiet type, dark and mysterious." Elena could practically hear Caroline wiggling her eyebrows at her through the phone. "No one is really even friends with him except for Matt and the Sophomore Jeremy. And, maybe his older brother. I don't know much about Damon except that he works at a mechanic and also looks like a dream."

"Damon?"

"Yeah, Stefan's older brother. Didn't I say that?"

Elena smiled. "Maybe you did. And my answer is yes."

"Yes . . ."

"Yes, I will come to the bonfire tonight."

Elena could hear Caroline's sigh of relief. "Okay, good. And then I can introduce you to Stefan."

"Sounds like a plan." Elena hung up the phone. She hoped she hadn't just made a huge mistake. Going to a party like that, left a lot of things open to go wrong, because as much as she hated it, she wasn't human. Being a vampire meant danger, both for her and for those around her. But Elena wasn't going to let her fear control her and she was here to be an ordinary human and do ordinary human things, like go to a bonfire party.

* * *

The flames licked higher and higher, reaching for the night sky. Stefan had been hanging with Matt and Jeremy for a while, until Jeremy had gone to hang out with his sort-of-girlfriend Vicki and Matt had gone to get something to drink. Stefan didn't mind though, he enjoyed the peace he got from watching the flames. However, this time didn't last long as Caroline made her way pointedly toward him. He watched her curiously. Caroline was kind and caring, but she was also somewhat neurotic and a bit of a control freak. But Stefan didn't really mind that. He had a feeling that there was more to this girl then school floats and blond hair.

Finally, she reached him. "Hi Stefan. I want to introduce you to someone." She turned to the girl she had been dragging behind her. "Elena, this is Stefan Salvatore. Stefan, this is Elena Pierce. She's new to the school. Why don't you show her around." Before either Stefan or Elena could point out the fact that they weren't at school, Caroline had disappeared into the crowd.

Elena smiled at Stefan. "Hi. I'm Elena, but I guess you already know that since Caroline just said that."

Stefan smiled back. "Yeah, Caroline can be a little, pushy sometimes, but . ."

Elena nodding, knowing what he meant.

"So what brings you to Mystic Falls?" Stefan asked. He was curious why a girl like Elena would ever want to move to his quiet town.

Elena seemed to tense up slightly, but Stefan noticed. "Well, my ancestors were from here and I wanted to come back to my roots, you know? Like, get to know my heritage."

"So wait. Are you like a Pierce, like the founding families Pierce?"

Elena nodded

"But I had thought that they all died out in the 19th century."

Elena shook her head. "No, they just moved away. The Battle of Willow Creek had been somewhat of a traumatic experience for the Pierce girls, so they moved away."

There was a scream from the forest and a commotion from the same direction a few seconds later. Stefan and Elena ran over. Stefan spotted Matt on the other side of the bonfire doing the same. When they reached the forest, Stefan saw Vicki coming out of the woods. She was frantic, pointing behind her.

Matt reached her first. "Vic, what's wrong? What is it?"

She grabbed her brother. "Jeremy. He . . he's on the ground. A lot of blood. I don't know what happened. I left to get a drink but before I could even reach the bonfire, I heard a noise. And now he's hurt. Oh, Matt what have I done. I should have been there."

Stefan ran towards the woods. He came across Jeremy who, sure enough, was laying on the ground, bleeding from the neck. Stefan thought that was a strange place for a wild animal to have gotten Jeremy, but shook it off. He picked his friend up and carried him back toward the bonfire.

Someone had called 911 and he could hear the sirens in the distance. Elena ran up to him and Jeremy but froze when she saw the wound on his neck.

"Can you help me get him over to the road?" He asked her.

Elena took a step back, looking sick. "No, I'm sorry. I get . . . sick around blood." She turned away from him, as if to hide her face. After a few seconds, she looked back at Stefan. "It was nice meeting you, but I have to go." She turned around and ran away.

Matt came over and gave Stefan a hand with getting Jeremy to the road, where an ambulance had arrived.

* * *

Had she been naive to hope, even for a day, that she could be normal? Elena paced back and forth in the living room of the foreclosure. She thought she had been careful. She thought no one had followed her. But obviously she had thought wrong. What had happened at the bonfire was proof of that. There was another vampire in town. And although the last thing she wanted was for anyone to be put in danger because of her or to find out what she really was, she had no choice but to stay in town. She couldn't leave them knowing there was someone else out there. She needed to figure out who it was, and she needed to stop them.


	4. August 21st 1864

A/N - So from here on out I am going to be attempting to post a chapter a day. (Although with school starting I don't know how well I will be able to keep up with that) There will be a flashback every other chapter and the flashbacks will tend to be shorter.

Let me know if you have any constructive criticism, if any of the characters seem to OOC or if you have any questions or ideas. Reviews are always welcome.

Shout out to Valentina for reviewing. Here you go. :)

* * *

August 21st 1864:

"Elena, there are dangers in this town. Demons that you don't know of. I need you to understand that." Elena nodded as her father talked. He was a Pierce and part of the secret counsel. He talked in code, but she understood the true meaning behind his words anyway. Living in Mystic falls in 1864 meant that she knew about all the creatures that went bump in the night. Her father had tried to protect her from them, keeping the true reason for the many late night council meetings a secret, but she had her own secrets.

She had learned long ago about vampires. It wasn't hard to figure out with all the attacks, victims with puncture marks in their necks, and the blood drained from their bodies. But she also knew many of them. Anna, for example was a vampire, and had been Elena's friend for quite a while. Not to mention the fact that Elena's own twin just happened to be dating one. She knew that if their father found out, he would try to kill Elijah, and maybe even Katherine for being a sympathizer, but Elena liked Elijah. He was moral, and really loved Katherine, so Elena wasn't planning on giving him up to her father any time soon.

Elena's father finished up his speech to Elena about how she wasn't supposed to go outside at night, and he headed out to another one of his council meetings. Elena sighed and sat down at the window to write in her journal.

The front door opened and Katherine walked in. "Is father here?" Elena shook her head. "Good. Okay Elena I need your help."

Elena sat up, intrigued. Katherine didn't often ask for help, and when she did, Elena was pretty sure she would normally ask Elijah, not her. "With what?"

"Killing Klaus."

Elena's eyes went wide, trying to process what her twin had just said. Then she started thinking it through. If they succeeded, they would rid the world of Niklaus, the most ruthless original. He was strong, and he had no regard for human life. He only brought pain to those he interacted with and Elena knew that the world would probably be a much safer place without him in it. She was all for the idea, but couldn't understand what would lead _Katherine_ to want him dead. "Why do you want to kill Klaus?"

Katherine shrugged her shoulders. "He is in the way. He would never allow my relationship with Elijah to continue if he found out about it and I don't like him controlling Elijah the way he does." Of course, Katherine left out the part about wanting Elijah to turn her and how that was never going to happen with Klaus in the way, but Elena didn't need to know that just yet.

Elena thought about then nodded. "Okay. I'm in."


	5. The Sheriff

A/N - Hello everyone. I am really excited to show you guys where this story is headed and I have a whole bunch of ideas. If you haven't realized by now, I have ended up writing this story in a sort of TV show type format, with a lot of smaller scenes, subplots, and flashbacks. I do have at least the next few chapters planed out, but seeing as I just started school today, I don't know how often I am going to keep updating. I will do my best to update at least every day or two, but it may end up going even longer.

Reviews are always wanted and if you have any ideas or suggestions just let me know! Special thanks to Guest and DarkBrunette for reviewing. Enjoy this next chapter!

* * *

Liz Forbes had never seen a real vampire attack for herself before. But she had heard enough about them to know that this was one of them. The official story was an animal attack, but Liz and the Council knew better. They had been formed way back in the eighteen hundreds for this very reason. No one really thought vampires would return to Mystic Falls. Not in modern times, but this attack meant that they had.

Liz stood up and patted Jeremy on the arm. "I hope you start to feel better soon."

The bites on his neck kept him from moving too much, but he tried to smile. "Thanks."

She nodded and walked out of the hospital room. As she headed toward the exit, she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and speed dialed number 5. The phone rang as she held it up to her ear.

"Sheriff. What is the situation?" said the voice on the other end of the line.

"Mayor Lockwood, I'm afraid we have a problem. It was definitely," she lowered her voice, "a vampire attack."

The mayor took a deep breath. "Are you absolutely sure? There is no chance of it being an animal? Like the boy said? We need to make sure we are not jumping to conclusions."

Liz nodded her head, forgetting he couldn't see her. "Yes, I'm sure. He was drained of blood and the puncture marks on his neck were too precise to be from a wild animal."

There was another pause on the other end while Liz walked outside and headed toward her car. "Okay then. I will call a council meeting. You and I will give them the rundown on what happened and then we will figure out where to go from there."

"Okay. See you then."

* * *

The door swung shut behind Stefan as he headed out to the second day of school.

"Alone at last." Damon said to himself. He paced over to the table where the alcohol was sitting and poured himself a drink, staring at the room around him. He had never quite understood why he had never sold the large old house. It had been in the family for generations, and it used to be a boarding house. His father had kept if for sentimental reasons but, although it was now legally Damon's house, he had never even considered selling it.

It was Damon's day off from work, so he headed over to the Grill, sitting down at one of the empty seats at the bar.

The bartender poured him a drink as the sheriff sat down in the seat next to him.

"So what's the deal with that attack on the Gilbert kid?" the bartender asked her. "Was it really just a wild animal?"

"It seems that way." she confirmed.

Damon couldn't help but jump into the conversation. "I read in the newspaper that he was drained of blood. What kind of animal would do that?" He had just been curious, but he saw something flash behind the sheriff's eyes, as if she was wondering if Damon knew something.

"I don't really know." She studied him closer. "You're one of the Salvatore brothers, right?"

Damon nodded. "That would be me. Damon Salvatore at your service." He held out his hand and she shook it.

"Sheriff Forbes. You know, I knew your father pretty well." The sheriff seemed to hesitate slightly, like she was trying to make a decision. "You wouldn't happen to know where he kept his store of vervain, would you?"

"Vervain?" He felt like he had heard the word before, but he didn't know where, or what it meant.

"Oh, it's just a plant. About this tall," She held up her hands about six inches from each other, "and it has little purple bulbs at the ends. He would grow it and then sell it to us," she waited a second then added, "you know, for decoration. I was hoping you would know where it was, so I could buy some more."

Damon nodded. "Oh. Well, I haven't seen any around, but if I spot it, I will let you know."

The sheriff looked relieved. "Okay. Thank you Damon. Now, I guess I should get going. Don't want to miss any important meeting." Damon laughed as she stood up and payed the tip. Damon's eyes followed her out of the Grill. If he hadn't thought something fishy was up that morning when he read about an animal attack with the victim drained of blood, he definitely was sure about it now. The sheriff was covering something up, and now, Damon was determined to figure out exactly what it was.

* * *

The mayor checked outside of the doors of the room one last time before shutting and locking them. He turned to the Sheriff. "Would you please explain our situation?"

She nodded before turning to the small group of people sitting in front of her. She explained how there had been an attack and how she had gone to interview Jeremy. She told the council how the marks on his neck had to have been made by a vampire and how everything they had been told about vampires, was true. She told them how vampires had returned to Mystic Falls. "So now the question is, what do we do about it? I have already spoken to Damon Salvatore about getting vervain for our safety and the safety of those around us, but that won't be enough to protect the whole town."

"If I may, Sheriff, I think I know of a few things that could help us." It was John Gilbert talking. The council turned in their seats to look at him.

Liz was slightly taken aback. "And what would those things be?"

"Well, as you may know, I have read many of my ancestor Jonathan Gilbert's journals and he writes of a device, that looks like a pocket watch, but is actually a compass that points to the nearest vampire."

"Well, if we could get such a device, that would be a huge help to us. Do you know who has it now?"

"I believe that it was my brother's when he was younger, so I would guess that it is somewhere in the Gilbert's household. I mean, where my nephew lives. Should I try and retrieve it for you?"

"Yes, I think you should. But John," The sheriff waited till he acknowledged her again, to make sure she had his full attention. "Be careful. I don't want Jeremy, or anybody else for that matter, getting dragged into all this. Is that clear?"

John nodded his head. "Yes sheriff."


	6. August 24th 1864 (1)

A/N- Short one this time. As always, reviews are always wanted. Enjoy!

* * *

August 24th 1864:

Their plan had gone perfectly so far. Klaus had come to save his brother as soon as he got the fake letter the twins had sent him, threatening Elijah's life. They had him trapped in the living room, both exits blocked by the identical girls, holding stakes.

Realizing what was happening Klaus started to laugh. "Do you two humans actually think that you can kill me?"

Katherine, who was standing in front of him smirked. "Well, it won't hurt to try." And she rushed at him, stake aimed at his heart. He easily deflected it and grabbed her by the throat. He turned to face Elena, probably to make some quick remark about how silly their whole plan was, but Elena was already at his side. She thrust the stake into his heart and his grip on Katherine loosened as he looked down at the piece of wood protruding from his chest.

Katherine fell to the floor at the same time as Klaus, still with the stake in his chest. He started to turn gray, the veins under his skin becoming defined as his whole body became stiff.


	7. Journals

A/N - So this chapter is a little longer to make up for that last one. Things are finally really starting to pick up.

Shout out to Cavalialover for reviewing. Reviews are amazing.

Also, I'm just curious, as a major shipper myself, who you guys ship, in TVD or really anything. Who are your OTPs, BROPTs, and anti-ships? Do you have any multifandom ships? Let me know!

* * *

The morning was young, and the sun wasn't quite yet peaking over the tips of the trees. Elena was about to head out the door to get some hunting done before school when she heard a noise. She wouldn't have heard it if it weren't for her super hearing, but there was a creak in one of the upstairs rooms. Someone was in the house.

"Whoever you are, know that I am armed and dangerous." Elena yelled, letting her voice flow through the house. "Show yourself."

"Was that supposed to be a threat?" Elena spun around to face the speaker and was meet with a face identical to hers.

"Katherine." Elena hadn't seen her twin in years, and she had been hoping that her sister would let it stay that way, especially while she was in Mystic Falls. But obviously she had had no such luck.

"Hello _Elena_," Katherine tilted her head. "Enjoying your new human life?"

Elena glared at her twin.

Katherine let out an amused sigh. "Well, I hope you at least liked my little gift to you yesterday."

Elena was standing in a defensive position. "So it _was_ you that attacked that Jeremy kid last night. Why?"

Katherine shrugged. "Boredom. Hunger. The works." Katherine walked over to the mantel over the fireplace and ran her finger along the edge, before bringing it up to her eyes, as if checking for dust. "And I also enjoy watching you squirm." Katherine looked back up at her sister. "It's quite funny to watch you struggle to keep a lid on your true nature."

"Why are you here Katherine? What are you doing in Mystic Falls?"

Katherine feigned hurt. "I missed my sister. Do I have to have another reason?"

"Look. I don't have time to play games with you right now. I'm going to be late for school. So either leave, or -" Elena never got a chance to finish her sentence. Her twin sister was already gone.

* * *

Stefan shut his looked around. He spotted Elena Pierce with Caroline and finally worked up the courage to approach her.

"-know what it is, but for some reason, she has been pretty secretive lately." Caroline was saying.

"Well, maybe she is just working through some things?" Elena suggested. "I think you should keep giving her her space, at least for now."

"Hello Elena." The brunette's attention snapped to Stefan.

"Hi." Elena said with a smile.

Stefan smiled back. "We were interrupted when we were talking the other day at the bonfire and I was hoping I could make it up to you. Are you free to come over to my place for dinner tonight? I _am_ a rather good cook."

Elena nodded. "Yeah. Sounds like fun."

* * *

Jeremy threw his backpack down on the couch before flopping down next to it.

"Hey. Don't hurt the couch." Jeremy's aunt Jenna scolded from the kitchen. Jeremy rolled his eyes.

"Hi Jeremy." This time it was a different voice. A voice Jeremy hadn't heard in a long time. Jeremy turned in his seat to see the person who was approaching him from behind.

"Uncle John? What are you doing here? My parents are researching something abroad. They won't be back for who knows how long."

John shrugged. "I was in town and decided to pay my nephew a visit." Jeremy squinted at his Uncle. He knew better than to believe a lie as thin as that. "Okay, I'll admit. I'm looking for something. It's a pocket watch from the 1860's. I was hoping that maybe you knew where it was."

"Oh, you mean Johnathan Gilbert's watch? Why do you want that?"

"Nothing important really, I just want to borrow it. Do you know where it is?"

Jeremy sat up. "Yeah. My dad gave it to me right before he left. I can go get it for you if you want."

"Could you?"

"Sure." Jeremy got up and headed up to his room, returning shortly with the watch in his hand. "Here you go. Just make sure you bring it back."

"Of course."

* * *

Elena pulled her car up to the old boarding house. She rechecked the address to make sure she was in the right place. The house was huge and looming, sitting in isolation away from the rest of civilization. She got out of her car and walked up to the door, knocking twice.

There was a moment of silence before she heard movement inside. The door swung open. Elena had never seen the man before. He was about average height and somewhat messy black hair.

"Um . . . I'm here to see Stefan?" Elena said, wondering again if she was at the right house.

"He's right upstairs. Come on in." The man stepped back, pulling the door open even farther, giving her room to step past.

Elena let out a small sigh of relief when she stepped over the threshold. She had been invited in. She continued into the living room, trying to take in all of the large house around her. The man watched he curiously, as if he had never seen someone come to visit Stefan before. It least, not someone female.

Elena couldn't help but wonder who exactly the man was. "So are you his . ."

"Brother." The man finished her sentence for her. He smiled. "I'm Damon."

"I'm Elena. It's nice to meet you."

Stefan's footsteps echoed as he came down the stairs. He was wearing a purple dress shirt and Elena immediately regretted the decision to wear the same clothes she had worn that day to school. "Hi Elena."

"Well, I'm going to take that as my cue." Damon said. He turned and nodded at her. "See you later Elena." Then he headed out the front door, leaving Stefan and Elena alone in the house.

Stefan noticed Elena admiring the house. "Do you want to see more? I can show you around the house."

"Oh yeah, I would love that." So Stefan lead her to the study and library, both of which were bigger than most she had seen before. Then he showed her up the stairs to a row of bedrooms and a gigantic bathroom at the end of the hallway.

"This one is my room." He said, pointing to one of the rooms on her left. She looked at him, as if asking for permission and he nodded. Stefan's room was fairly large, like the rest of the rooms of the house, but somehow it seemed more personal. Elena ran her hand along the side of his bed, looking around at the large amount of books he had on his shelves. She looked down at his nightstand and noticed what looked like a book sitting there, with a pencil laying next to it. If she didn't keep one herself, she may not have recognized it for what it was. She picked it up and showed it to Stefan.

"_You_ keep a journal?"

Stefan blushed and looked down at the floor. "Yeah. I mean, I like to be able to remember things. And I've found that journaling has helped me with that."

"Really?" He nodded. "I keep one too."

He walked up to her. "You keep a journal?"

Elena looked back down at the book in her hands. "Yeah, I keep a journal. I've journaled for all my life." She turned to him, looking up into his eyes. "It helps keep me grounded."

"Do you generally find you have a problem with staying on the ground?"

She smiled. "Not in a long time."

He reached up and brushed her hair behind her ear. "Has anyone ever told you that you are beautiful?" he whispered.

"Not in a long time." The distance between them lessened until they were inches apart. Then centimeters. Elena wanted this. She wanted a normal life and that was what this was. Normal. But as she felt the pull of her hunger and heard the rush of his blood in her ears, she was forced to pull back. She couldn't hurt him. No matter the consequences.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Elena shrugged as she stepped around him, toward the door. "Nothing, I just, can't. Right now." She turned to face him. "Okay?"

He looked a little hurt, but nodded all the same. "Okay."


	8. August 24th 1864 (2)

A/N - Hello again. Here with another chapter. Thank you to Parodychick for reviewing.

* * *

August 24th 1864:

Katherine walked right into the formerly abandoned cottage where Elijah had been staying during his stay in Mystic Falls. "Turn me."

Elijah looked up from whatever he had been reading. "Katherine. I didn't know you would be coming over so soon." He stood up and looked around at the moderately organized space. "I would have-"

"I want you to make me a vampire, Elijah." Katherine interrupted, not caring about the state of the room. "No more stalling or excuses. Your brother is dead, and I want this."

Elijah furrowed his brows at her. "What do you mean, my brother is dead?"

Katherine rolled her eyes. "We staked him. We saw him wither and-"

"What stake did you use?"

Katherine was taken back. Elijah had never interrupted her before. He was always the caring, selfless one of the family. "A normal stake. What do you mean what stake?"

Elijah flashed to her. "Katherine you need to leave. Right now. You and whomever else was stupid enough to go after Klaus." Elijah peaked out the windows and doors, seemingly checking for something or someone.

"What do you mean? He's dead. . . isn't he?" Elijah turned back to Katherine and gave her a look that gave her his answer. He wasn't dead. Of course it wouldn't have been that easy. He was an original, and now he would be out for blood. Hers and Elena's. "Oh." Elijah turned to look out the window again and in that second Katherine made a decision. She grabbed a stake sitting on the desk and stabbed herself as close as she could to the heart.

She gagged as she dropped to the floor and Elijah caught her. "Katherine, no. What did you do?" He held her as the life drained out of her. Finally he made the decision that Katherine had known he would make. He wouldn't sit by and watch her die when he could do something about it. Knowing it was what she was counting on him doing, he bit into his own wrist and put it over her mouth, letting her drink the blood of a vampire.


	9. Secrets

A/N - So this is the longest chapter yet. This fic is so much fun to write and I have quite a few things planed. I think this might be my personal favorite chapter so far. Review to let me know what you think!

* * *

"Caroline?" Bonnie said from her doorway. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I've noticed you seemed a little distracted lately and I wanted to see if I could cheer you up." She smiled and held up the basket she was holding. "I brought cookies."

Bonnie smiled, but Caroline could tell she was just doing it out of courtesy. "Come on in."

Caroline walked into the house, plopping down on the sofa in the living room. She pulled out two cookies and handed her friend one. Bonnie took it and took a bite, nodding to tell Caroline that it was good.

"Okay look." Caroline said, not being a fan of silences. "What is going on with you? You need to tell me. I'm your friend."

Bonnie shook her head. "I can't Caroline. I'm sorry, it's just, I'm trying to work some family stuff out. You know? I can't really say anything else."

Caroline's shoulders drooped. "Okay fine. But at least let me cheer you up with cookies and a movie."

This time Bonnie's smile was real. "Sounds like fun."

* * *

It had been too long since Damon had gotten a good long break. Ever since his encounter with the Sheriff, he had not gotten a moment's peace, between working at the mechanics shop and making himself scarce when his brother brought Elena over.

However, he had managed to find some of the plant that the sheriff had been telling him about, vervain, and he was planning on using that to his advantage. He grabbed a handful and headed out to the Grill, ready to figure out what was up in his town.

He immediately spotted the Sheriff, sitting at a table all by herself, waiting to someone to call her with an emergency. He headed over and sat down across from her.

"Damon?"

"Hi Sheriff. So I looked around for that plant you were telling me about and I found some."

The sheriff looked interested. "Awesome. Can I buy some from you?"

"Not until you tell me exactly what you know." This was it. He was either going to find out this town's secret or she wasn't going to get any vervain.

She shook her head. "What do you mean. What I know about what?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "Look. We both know that you know a lot more about that attack on the Gilbert kid then you are letting on and I'm willing to bet that you need vervain a lot more than you let on. Either tell me exactly what is happening, or you won't get any vervain."

She crossed her arms. "Are you trying to blackmail me?" she asked.

Damon pulled back. "No. I just want to know what you know."

She thought about his offer before looking back at him. "I'm sorry Damon. I can't tell you anything. And trust me, you don't really want to know anyway. Now, if you'll excuse me," she said checking her watch, "I have somewhere I have to be." She stood up. Damon narrowed his eyes, watching her leave.

He had thought she would cave. But he wasn't ready to give up just yet.

The moment she was out the door he stood up and followed her out, jumping in his car and pulling out behind her police vehicle. He stayed back far enough, with enough people between them, that she didn't seem to notice that he was tailing her.

She pulled up to the Lockwood's manson and Damon continued to the next street, pulling over and parking far enough away so that no one would see his car from the house. He got out and looked around before running across the lawn and standing outside the window, which happened to be open.

"Mayor Lockwood, I think we may have a problem." he heard her saying.

"What's wrong?" said another voice. The mayor Damon assumed. So whatever they were hiding, the mayor was in on it as well.

"Damon Salvatore is refusing to give us any vervain." the sheriff again. "He wanted to trade it for information about what we were doing. He is asking too many questions, getting to close."

The mayor took a deep breath. "Do you think he knows about vampires?" Vampires? Damon was caught off guard by such a strange concept, but it made sense. Vampires would explain the strange attack on the Gilbert boy where he was almost drained of all his blood.

The sheriff must have shook her head because the mayor was the one who talked next. "Well, we need that vervain. You are going to have to convince him to hand it over, or we will all be susceptible to compulsion and be easy prey. We need to keep ourselves and those we care about safe."

"Trust me, mayor, I know. I worry about Caroline all the time." She took a deep breath. "I will try again, but it won't be easy. Damon doesn't seem the type to take no for an answer."

* * *

Stefan was sitting in his room writing in his journal while the last rays of sunlight disappeared from the evening sky. The doorbell rang. His brother had left for the Grill a little while earlier, so there was no one else home to get the door. He got up and set his journal facing down to keep the page he was at.

When he pulled the door open he broke into a wide smile. "Elena."

"Hi Stefan. I'm sorry for dropping by without warning like this, I just," she shrugged, "missed you."

He laughed. "It's fine. I wasn't really doing anything anyway. Just writing in my journal. Come on in."

Her face lit up and she stepped through into the living room. She turned back to face him as he walked toward her. "So what, exactly were you writing in that journal of yours?"

"Oh, I don't know. It couldn't have been about a certain beautiful girl I know."

"You were writing about me?" She asked, surprised. He nodded. "So, what did you write about me?"

"Just how annoying and needy you are."

"Hey!" She punched him lightly on the shoulder. "That's not very nice." They were both smiling and laughing. Finally their laughter died down and Stefan couldn't help but stare. She really was beautiful.

"What are you staring at?" Elena asked, a little shy.

"You." He said, not giving any more of an explanation. She stepped closer and put her hands on his chest. He brushed her hair behind her ear, even though none had fallen out. He lost himself in her warm brown eyes, leaning in even closer to her. He held her face in his hand but hesitated, remembering the last time they had almost kissed. "Is this okay?" he asked, not wanting to overstep his boundaries.

She nodded and whispered, "Yes." And then she reached up and kissed him. It was soft and gentle. For the first time Stefan wholeheartedly knew something about himself. He was in love with Elena Pierce. He kissed her back and knew it was right. He reached around her, pulling her closer to himself, kissing her with the whole of his being. He didn't know how long they kissed. It felt like forever and the space between a second at the same time, but he knew he didn't want it to end.

Eventually they pulled apart. "That was . . ." Elena started to say.

"Amazing." Stefan finished for her.

_Buzz. Buzz._

They both groaned and Stefan pulled his phone out of his pocket, pressing the answer button. Elena stepped back and sat down on the couch.

Stefan put the phone up to his ear. "Hello?" he said.

"Stefan, brother. I need you to do something for me." said the voice at the other end of the line.

Stefan sighed. "What do you need Damon?"

"There is this plant called vervain in the basement. It has little tiny purple flowers on it. I need you to go grab a piece and hide the rest of it. Somewhere no one would look for it."

"Why? What is it?" Stefan had done quite a few weird things for his brother before, but this was one of the strangest.

"I can't really tell, but, please, just do it?"

Stefan was taken a little aback by his brother using the word please, so he decided not to push it. "Okay fine." he said before hanging up the phone and turning back to Elena.

Before he could explain to her what his brother had said, there was a knock on the door and a familiar voice called, "Stefan? It's Elena. Are you in there?"


	10. August 24th 1864 (3)

A/N - Hello everybody. So this is not officially the longest fanficion I have written which is an awesome personal achievement for me and I'm really excited sharing it with you. If you are still reading this by this point THANK YOU SO MUCH. You guys really are the reason I keep writing. And please don't be shy, leave a review, let me know what you think, what you want to happen, or just to chat.

Thanks to DreaminOfLove22 and Parodychick for reviewing.

Sorry this is so short but I promise the next chapter is going to be much longer.

* * *

August 24th 1864:

Klaus stood in the doorway. Elijah stood in front of him, protecting Katherine.

"Brother, let me through. She tried to kill me and you know what happens when I don't get my revenge." Elijah didn't say a word, but continued to stare down his brother. "I tire of this game you are trying to play Elijah." Klaus flashed to Katherine and held her, ready to snap her neck. "Brother, this is what happens to those who try to hurt me and those who you try to hide from me." Without another second's hesitation, he snapped her neck and she fell to the floor.

"No!" Elijah yelled. He knew that she would wake up again, although his brother didn't, but that didn't change the fact that he didn't want to see her die. She would be different when she woke. Elijah wasn't sure who she would become after she changed, and he wasn't sure he wanted to find out.


	11. New Beginnings

A/N - Let me know what you guys think of this new chapter. Shout to Parodychick and DreaminOfLove22 for reviewing again ily.

* * *

Caroline was tired of trying to be a good friend to Bonnie, when it was obvious that Bonnie didn't want her there. She had done everything she could think of to cheer up her friend and she had tried to ask her what was wrong, but Bonnie wasn't going to tell her anything. She was being secretive and stubborn and those two things did not mix well.

So Caroline went to see Tyler. She knew he was a bit of a jerk but he was also her boyfriend, and at that moment, Caroline needed someone to talk to and take her mind off her friend problems. She pulled up to his house and walked up to the door. She knocked and Tyler answered.

"Caroline." He said. "What are you doing here? I didn't think you would be coming over."

"I've been having a rough day and I-" Caroline was cut off by someone else inside the house.

"Ty? Who is it?"

Tyler looked back inside, upset. "No one. I thought I told you to stay upstairs."

Caroline looked at Tyler. "Who is that?" Tyler started trying to explain, but Caroline didn't give him a chance. She pushed through the door.

Standing halfway down the stairs was Vicki Donovan, wearing nothing but a bra and her underwear. Caroline pulled back and held in the tears that were already starting to build in her eyes.

She turned to Tyler. "Vicki Donovan?" She yelled. "You are cheating on me with Matt's sister? I knew you were a jerk, but I didn't think you would stoop this low, Tyler. If you want out of this relationship, then fine. You are out. We are done." She stomped out the front door and down the steps.

"Wait, Care, please, let me explain!" Tyler called after her.

She whirled around. "No. This is the last straw. We are over. For good." She glared at him, and then added as an afterthought, "And don't call me Care." She turned around, slid into the front seat of her car and pulled out of the driveway. Her day had just gone from bad, to worse.

* * *

"Stefan?" Elena knocked on the door again before deciding to go in. She took a few steps into the house but stopped in her track to take in what she was seeing.

There was her identical image, her twin, dressed like her, smirking at her, and Stefan, looking back and forth between the two of them.

At that second Elena filled with an emotion she didn't often let herself feel. Hatred. She hated her sister for coming into her life and sabotaging it. "Katherine." She put as much of the loathing she was feeling behind the name.

It took all Elena had not to use her vamp speed in front of Stefan as she walked over to her sister. "What are you doing here Katherine?"

Katherine shrugged. "I came to meet your new _special friend._ And let me tell you sis, you really know how to pick em." Katherine eyed Stefan up and down, smiling like he was a toy she had been playing with.

"Wait." Stefan said, taking a step toward the girls. He pointed to Elena. "So _you're_ really Elena? And you," he turned to Katherine, "are called Katherine?"

Katherine turned her head to the side. "You really _are_ quite the genius."

Elena stepped toward Stefan. "Katherine's my twin sister. I was going to tell you eventually about her but . . ."

"Careful sis. You might hurt my feelings if you finish that sentence, and you know what happens when my feelings get hurt." Katherine looked at Stefan again. "Although, after that kiss, I might just turn him instead."

"Kiss?" Elena asked at the same time that Stefan said, "Turn?"

Katherine giggled to herself. She walked up close to Elena and whispered in her ear. "Have fun trying to explain _that_ to him." Then she walked over to Stefan, running her hand across the front of his chest. "It was nice to finally meet you Stefan." She headed to the door where she turned around one last time. "See you later." She waved to them and then was gone.

Elena turned to Stefan. "Are you okay?"

"Well, I mean, I just found out that the person I thought I was with wasn't really there and it was just kind of a shock."

Elena hurried over to him, checking his neck and wrists. "But she didn't hurt you?"

Stefan gave Elena a confused look. "Why would she have hurt me? And why you are at it, what did she mean by 'turn me'?"

Elena shook her head, hoping that he wouldn't push the issue. "Nothing. It's just, an inside joke between the two of us." She paused and looked up into his eyes. "Are you okay?"

"I just answered that question."

"No, I mean, with all this." She hesitated before adding, "The kiss."

Stefan thought about it. "I'm not really okay." he said, apparently deciding to be fully honest with her. "I thought I was kissing my girlfriend and then found out it was actually her twin."

Elena smirked. "Girlfriend?"

Stefan smiled. "Elena Pierce. Would you like to be my girlfriend?"

She lit up and nodded, before letting her frown creep back in. How could she let herself be his girlfriend when she was keeping so many secrets from him? When she struggled not to hurt him on a daily basis? She would rather hurt his feelings here instead of breaking his heart later, or worse. "Stefan, I want to but -"

"Then what's stopping you?" Stefan asked, cutting her off. She could tell he was tired of her half-explanations and pulling back at the last second. Katherine had showed him what it could be like if he didn't have to wait in just one kiss. Katherine had succeeded in doing what Elena guessed was the whole reason for this stunt. She had shown him how his relationship with Elena was not normal, although he may not have understood the full extent of it.

Elena struggled with an explanation. "Stefan, there are things you don't know about me . . ." She didn't know how to explain just how much danger she was putting him in just by being there.

He shook his head. "I don't care." He gently held her face in his hands. "I realized something, during that kiss with your sister, Elena. I realized that I love you. Not Katherine. _You_. Yes, I was kissing her, but I thought it was you. I _wanted_ it to be you. Because I love you." He paused and she watched his eyes searching her face. "And I think you love me too."

Elena felt herself give him the faintest nod.

"Then there is no problem. Whatever has you so worried, it doesn't matter. What matters is that I love you." His hand slid behind her head and he leaned forward toward her, and she found herself leaning toward him. Before Elena knew what was happening, their lips meet and she forgot all of her worries.

The kiss was different than any other kiss she had felt before. Over one hundred and fifty years of living had hardened her. She was strong. She was a fighter. And she didn't often let people in. Whenever she did, they ended up dead and she didn't want to suffer any more of that pain. But while she was kissing Stefan, she didn't feel like she had to be strong. He was strong enough for the both of them and he wasn't going to let anything happen to her. For the first time in a long time, Elena felt like she was safe, and she loved it. She didn't feel like a vampire, but like an ordinary girl kissing her ordinary boyfriend. This is what she had come to Mystic Falls for.

But no matter what she felt, Elena was still a vampire. She couldn't help but notice how fast his heart beat had gotten as it pumped blood beneath his skin. His heart sounded like a thunderstorm in her ears, reminding her what she was, and how she could never change.

She finally pulled away and took a deep breath, but she wasn't fast enough.

"Are you okay? Your face-"

Elena whirled around and faced the ground, trying to cover her face as she tried to get it to change back to normal. "It's nothing. I just have something in my eye." That was her go-to excuse, but it seemed to work most of the time. As she felt her face return to normal she turned to face her new boyfriend. "Im sorry. I," she hesitated, not wanting to leave him again, but finally deciding she didn't have another choice. She couldn't risk staying. "I have to go."

* * *

Damon walked up to Liz Forbes and sat down next to her. "Hello Liz."

"Damon?"

"I know about the vampires. And about how this town, including it's _mayor_ are trying to cover it up. And I want in."

"You want in what?"

"Your secret club or whatever." Damon leaned in toward the Sheriff. "Look, I know there has to be more than just you and the mayor and I want in. I brought the vervain, and I have the rest of it it hidden in a safe place at my home. You want it because It protects against vampires?"

The sheriff studied him before nodding. "You want to be in the council?"

"Yes." Damon said triumphantly. "Now you are getting it. It's founding families, right? Well, I'm a member of the Salvatore family and I want in."

"How did you know it was the founding families?" Liz asked, genuinely curious.

Damon shrugged. "You, the mayor, my uncle, and I'll guess at least a couple of the Gilberts as well. It wasn't that hard to figure out."

The sheriff debated for a little while. "And if we let you in, you will supply the vervain?"

Damon nodded.

The sheriff shook her head and sighed. "I can't believe I am doing this." She held out her hand to him. "It's a deal." Damon took her hand and they shook on it.


	12. August 25th 1864 (1)

A/N - I'm back in school, but I'm still going. I love you all, and special thanks again to Parodychick for reviewing. Here is the next chapter!

* * *

August 25 1864:

"Hello Elena." Katherine said, standing in the doorway. Elena was sitting writing in her diary again. Katherine would never understand that.

"Katherine, where have you been?" Elena asked, worried for her twin.

"Oh, you know, at Elijah's, talking to Klaus. The usual."

"What do you mean talking to Klaus? We just killed him."

Katherine smiled and shook her head.

Elena looked worried. "And you just talked with him?"

"Well, not exactly talk. More like he threatened us."

"Oh my goodness, Katherine. Come in and let me make sure you're okay." The moment she had finished saying it, Elena's realized the mistake she had just made, and what must have happened.

"Thank you for inviting me in, sister." Katherine said while stepping through the door.

"He turned you." It wasn't a question.

"And I'm here to turn you." Elena stood up and took a step back. This was something she had never wanted, and here her own sister was, threatening to turn her. "Elena, Klaus is alive, and we tried to kill him. He is out for blood and he won't stop until you and everyone you love is dead. This is a gift. It is the only way you are going to make it out of this night alive."

Elena shook her head, still backing away. "No, Katherine. This is bad. Tonight is the round-up. The counsel and anyone else in town willing to help are going to round up all the vampires and burn them alive. You can't be here. Just run. Run Katherine run, and don't look back."

Katherine turned to leave, then changed her mind at the last second. She knew she would regret it one day, but she wasn't going to leave her sister defenseless when Klaus came to kill her. And he would come. Katherine flashed across the room and ripped off her sister's vervain necklace, ignoring the searing pain she got from touching it. She stared her sister in the eyes and compelled her to drink her blood.


	13. The Founder's Party

A/N - Hello. I have now also uploaded this story on AO3. I have also been trying to come up with a better name because honestly, "How to be Human" is not very good and I finally came up with a new name. Sometime tomorrow I am going to be renaming this story "The Pierce Way". So, when you see that, this is that story.

Thank you to pegazus16 for reviewing.

* * *

"Will you go to the founder's party?" Stefan had asked his girlfriend. Of course she had said yes, and now here they were, walking up to the lockwood mansion, dressed up in fancy clothing which was probably making both of them slightly uncomfortable. Elena was wearing a red dress that flowed out at the hips, creating a flow of fabric that looked like a waterfall to her knees, and only wrapped around on shoulder. She had her hair straightened and Stefan had to admit he was a little starstruck.

She took his arm as they headed into the house. There were people everywhere. Stefan spotted his brother standing to one side, talking to the Sheriff. Matt and Jeremy waved at him so he headed over to meet his friends, Elena following right behind him.

"Hey man, how are you doing?" Matt asked, patting Stefan on the back.

"Well, if you guys haven't noticed, I have a girlfriend now." Stefan turned to Elena. "Elena, this is Matt and Jeremy," Stefan pointed to each as he said their names, before addressing his friends. "Guys, meet Elena Pierce."

Jeremy stuck out his hand. "Nice to finally meet you Elena."

She took it and shook, before doing the same with Matt. "The pleasure is mine."

Stefan turned to his girlfriend and again held out his hand. "Would you like to dance with me?"

Elena smiled and took his hand, heading out onto the dance floor. Stefan put his hand on her hip, and took her hand in his other. They started swaying back and forth to the music. "This is nice, Stefan."

He looked down at her questioningly. "What is? Dancing?"

She nodded. "Dancing with you. Being your girlfriend. Doing something normal."

"Do you usually do things not normal?" he asked, half joking, but also a little curious. He could tell there was something different about her. They way she had acted the first night he had meet her, her reaction to him meeting her twin, and maybe even what he had seen happen to her face after they kissed, although that was probably just his imagination. But the things she said and the way she said them told him that she was not really as normal as she acted. Stefan didn't want to push it, but he wished she trusted him enough to tell him whatever she was keeping from him.

Elena never answered his question.

The song came to an end and he stepped off the dance floor. "I'm going to get us some drinks."

Elena nodded and Stefan left her, headed for the kitchen. He passed by his brother and couldn't help but feel a bit curious. Ever since that mysterious phone call about the plant, his brother had seemed to be acting different. It wasn't anything in particular, but I just seemed like he had suddenly gotten a new obsession.

Damon and the Sheriff were heading into a smaller room to the side the was closed off to the party. Stefan wasn't sure why, but he decided to follow his brother. He stood outside the room in the hallway, which luckily was empty, and pressed his ear to the door.

"Did you bring it?" said the Sheriff. There was a silence as Stefan assumed Damon pulled out and handed to her whatever she was talking about. "Good." she said. Another pause. "Damon, you know you can't tell anyone about this right? The council was created to keep this town safe from vampires and that is what we are going to do, but if anyone found out, who knows what would happen. People would think they were crazy or there would be a riot in the street. Either way, it doesn't end well." Stefan couldn't think. She must have been out of her mind. Vampires weren't real.

"I know." Damon answered. "I'm not planning on going around telling everyone I meet."

Stefan had heard enough. His brother must have been just as crazy as she was. Or maybe Stefan had heard them wrong. Maybe they had said "deadly liers" or it was a metaphor for something. Whatever the case, Stefan knew he didn't want to get caught listening in, so he continued on toward the kitchen. He grabbed two drinks and started heading back toward his date, the strange conversation already out of his mind.

Elena was standing next to the display of the first founder's party registry, staring at the paper.

"Hey, what are you looking at?" he said as he approached.

Elena snapped back to attention. "What? Oh, nothing. Come on, lets go over there and say hi to Caroline. She looks lonely. She just broke up with her boyfriend a few days ago"

Stefan nodded and started to head toward Elena's friend. But before he walked away from the table he glanced at the registry. It was a quick, split second act, but it made all the difference. Elena was already walking toward her friend, oblivious to the fact that Stefan wasn't right behind her. Stefan scanned the list and two names popped out at him. Elena Pierce and Katherine Pierce.

It was to weird. To much of a coincidence. Stefan's mind whirled, trying to find an explanation but it kept coming back to the same word. Vampire. He already knew Elena was different. She said she didn't like blood. Her face had changed into something he couldn't explain. She had been worried about his physical safety when she knew he had been with her sister. And she was registred as one of the original members of the founding families in 1864.

Stefan didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to jump to conclusions. But he didn't want to be with her either. Calmly, he put his cup down on the table and started walking toward the door. He heard Elena call his name, but pretended not to as he headed out the door and headed for his car. He had to know more. He had to know for sure before saying anything to her

* * *

Normally Caroline loved parties, but this year, she just wasn't up for it. Caroline was normally the girl who always had a date and always had everything figured out. But having just broken up with Tyler so recently, she didn't much feel like dancing or partying. The founders party was only the first of sure to be many more in the next few weeks, so she didn't feel too bad about leaving earily.

She stepped into her car and put it in gear, driving away from the Lockwood mansion. She couldn't help but let her mind wander back to Tyler as she drove. She didn't understand how he could have done that to her. There had always been little things, things that she knew he did, but tried to ignore, but he had gone to far this time. Not only had he cheated on her, but he had done it with his best friend's sister.

Caroline shook her head, trying to blink away the tears that were threatening to overtake her vision.

She wasn't paying attention to where she was and found herself suddenly at a turn that was sharper than normal, and she was going a little too fast. She jerked the wheel to the right, trying to turn, but she only made it worse. She felt her back wheels lose traction and skid out to the left. By this point she had no control over her car. She was sliding sideways at 50 mph, and with terror she noticed the tree trunk a second before she hit it.

Caroline felt her body jerk as the car crushed against the tree. She felt something snap and she blacked out for a few seconds. She couldn't focus, but she knew, somehow that there was going to be absolutely no way that she was going to be walking away from this crash.

As her vision faded in and out, she noticed what looked like a girl walking toward her. But Caroline decided she must have been hallucinating as the girl raised her own wrist to her mouth and bit down on it. Caroline squeezed her eyes shut and counted to five before opening them again. The girl was still there. She walked toward the car and then did the last thing Caroline expected. She put her bleeding wrist to Caroline's mouth. Caroline attempted to struggle, but she wasn't able to move much at all.

After a few seconds, the girl stepped back and braced herself as she pulled the driver's side door off it's hinges. Now Caroline Knew she was hallucinating. No one was strong enough to do that. The girl reached in and pulled Caroline from the wreckage, carrying her in her arms. Caroline felt her eyelids grow heavy and the last thing she remembered was the sight of the pavement moving beneath her before she passed out for good.

* * *

Katherine knew she had just happened to be in the right place at the right time when she had overheard the conversation Stefan had had with his brother on the phone. She knew that the council must have still been around and she wasn't going to let it get in the way of anything. She needed someone on the inside.

That was why she was currently standing in the middle of Damon's bedroom as he walked in, tired from the party and his first council meeting.

Damon was obviously confused. "Elena?"

Katherine smiled. She found it so amusing that she was so easily mistaken for her sweet, caring sister. Other than their looks, the two sisters couldn't be any more different. Katherine had a feeling that Elena had no idea that her new boyfriend's brother was on the founder's council and had access to a rather large amount of vervain, and Katherine was going to use that to her advantage. "Nope. Guess again."

"What?" Now Damon looked even more confused then when he had walked in to see, who he thought was his brother's girlfriend, standing in his room. Katherine was okay with that. He was kind of hot when he was confused.

"I'm not Elena. I'm Katherine, her sister."

"Okay . . ." Damon said, obviously expecting her to continue. She still hadn't told him why she had just shown up in his room.

Katherine walked up to him, studying his face. "Sometimes I really wonder what my sister is thinking. Why didn't she go for you? You really are quite hot. Why your brother?"

Damon was obviously flattered, but he seemed to be trying to hide it. "So what if I am hotter than my brother? Why are you here?"

Katherine inspected his body, checking for vervain. Finally she spotted something sticking out the pocket in her shirt. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed it and threw it to the other side of the room.

"Hey!" he protested, then noticing that it had burned her his eyes went wide. "You're a vampire."

Katherine had to admit she was quite entertained by this human. She had expected him to run or at least tense up in fear when he realized what she was, but instead he looked rather fascinated. She grabbed his face, forcing him to look her in the eyes. "I need your help. You are going to continue going to the council meetings. You will forget about me being here, but you will report back to me at the end of each day about the council's plans. You're going to be my spy."

Damon nodded slowly. "I will be your spy." he repeated.

Katherine smiled. "Very good." she said. Then she was gone, leaving a dazed Damon standing in the middle of his room.


	14. August 25th 1864 (2)

A/N - Here's another short chapter. Hope you like it. Thank you to Parodychick for reviewing again. :)

* * *

August 25th 1864:

Elena couldn't stand it anymore. She couldn't help but hear the sounds of people running for their lives and the gunshots of those chasing them. Her friend Anna was out there, fighting for her life and all Elena was doing was sitting there, listening to it happen.

Finally, she got up and ran outside, searching for her friend. She ran toward the shop that Anna's mother owned and rushed inside to find it empty. She looked around for clues to where the pair had gone, but found nothing. She rushed back outside and started running through the forest. She had to find her friend.

The night was dark and the trees looked like shadows as she flew past them. There was a loud crack in the distance and she felt a sharp pain in her chest. She had been shot. She would never know who had shot her, or if it was just a misfire, but that was the shot that would forever change Elena's life.

She felt herself fall to the ground and she blacked out.


	15. Reveals

A/N - Sorry that I didn't update till now. I have been pretty busy with school and stuff but I managed to keep writing. Thank you for reading, following, and favoriting (if that's a word). I love you all.

Thanks again to Parodychick and DreaminOfLove22 for continuing to review and comment. You're awesome.

I love reviews and feedback, so don't be shy. Here's the next chapter. :)

* * *

Stefan hadn't gotten any sleep that night. The moment he had gotten home, he had looked up his ancestor's journals from 1864. He needed a first-hand account about who the Elena and Katherine who had signed the registry at the first founder's part really were. He didn't want to admit it, but the evidence pointing to _that_ Elena and _his_ Elena being the same person was adding up.

He had frantically searched for a journal from that time period and pulled it down from the shelves. As he read page after page, it became clear that at least the Giuseppe Salvatore that had written the journal had believed in vampires. To him, they were real creatures that were to be feared.

Stefan flipped forward, looking for a mention of Katherine or Elena. About halfway through the journal there was a passage about them. They were the twin daughters of Jonathan Gilbert and, supposedly, they had no idea about the town's vampire problem. Elena was more of a recluse, she liked to sit up in her room and write or read, while her sister Katherine, always seemed to be seducing one boy or another. Giuseppe didn't have much more on the subject of the Pierce twins, but that was all the information Stefan needed.

The Elena and Katherine Pierce from 1864 were twins, and the Elena Stefan knew was identical to her twin sister Katherine. It wasn't a coincidence, they had to be the same girls.

Stefan sat up from his bed, trying to stretch out the night's lack of sleep. There was a knock on the door downstairs. He rushed to get dressed and made it down the stairs just as his brother was leading Elena into the living room.

Stefan stopped short when he saw his girlfriend. "Damon, could you give us a moment alone please?" Stefan said, not taking his eyes off of her.

"Sure brother." Damon gave Stefan a questioning look and then left the room.

Stefan's heart was beating faster than he had ever felt it beat before. He was terrified of what he was about to ask, but he had to know. He had to hear her say it.

"Elena." He took another deep breath. "What are you?"

Elena looked at him with concern. She must have known it would come to this eventually. Maybe she could even hear his heart beat going crazy.

Elena stood up and walked over to him, standing in front of him, but not to close. "I didn't want you to know. I wanted to be normal. I guess I knew that you would figure it out eventually, but I hoped I would have time." She looked up into his eyes, trying to convey the seriousness of what she was going to say. "Are you sure you want to know? It's dangerous."

Stefan nodded. "I need to know. What are you?"

Elena looked down and subconsciously pulled her hair behind her ear. She looked up again and took a deep breath. "I'm a vampire."

As calmly as he could, Stefan said, "I want you to leave. Please."

Elena looked hurt, but didn't protest.

When the door shut behind her, Stefan walked over to the sofa and sank into it, trying to comprehend what exactly it meant.

* * *

Caroline woke up in the hospital to the sounds of beeping and the smell of cleanliness. She moaned as she tried to sit up, sore from the crash.

Someone sitting in the chair next to her jerked awake. "Hey sweetie." said her mom.

Caroline smiled. "Hi mom." She searched the room for a clock, but couldn't find one. "What time is it?"

"Almost eleven." the Sheriff replied after checking her watch. "Try not to move too much. Somehow you survived that crash, but let's not press our luck."

Caroline laid back, slightly nodding her head. "Yeah, how _did_ I get out of the car? I don't really remember much. I remember the car crashing into a tree and then . . ." Caroline remembered the strange girl and decided to keep that to herself. She didn't need people thinking she was even crazier than they already thought.

The Sheriff shrugged, shaking her head. "I don't know. We got an anonymous 911 call and by the time we got there you were laying twenty feet from the car, passed out, but not injured really. They want to keep you here for 24 hours to keep you under observation, but you're going to be fine. It's a miracle."

Matt poked his head in the doorway to the room. "Hey Caroline. How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay I guess. I mean, I survived and wasn't injured so . . ."

Caroline's mom stood up. "Well I'm going to leave you two alone for now. I'll be back later." She headed out the door as Matt came over to the side of her bed and gave her a gentle hug.

"I can't believe you came to see me." Caroline said.

Matt shrugged like it was no big deal. "Well, you were there for me this summer, so I want to be here for you."

Caroline smiled at the memories. That summer had been rough for Matt. His sister was a major druggy, and his mom had been in and out of his house, causing trouble when she was there, and leaving Matt with a house and sister to take care of when she wasn't.

Caroline had noticed him sitting alone, and quite honestly, looking wreaked, one day at the Grill and had gone over to see if he was okay. She wasn't sure exactly why she had decided to be a good friend to him that day, especially as they had never really been close before, but she had, and in return, he had opened up to her. He had told her about all that was going wrong in his life and how he didn't feel equipped to handle it.

For the rest of the summer, whenever he needed it, he called her. Whether to talk to someone about his problems, to which she would do her best to give good advice, or just to get away from his stressful life for a short time.

They had become good friends. It was somewhat strange and unusual, but they had grown closer over the summer.

"Thank you Matt. You really are a good friend." Caroline thought of all the trouble she was going through right now.

He smiled. "Just returning the favor."

* * *

Stefan decided he needed to get out of his house. He asked his brother if he wanted to go for a drink at the grill. Damon was a little surprised Stefan was asking him and not the other way around, but he accepted without question.

The brothers sat down side by side at the bar. Damon ordered two drinks and slid one over to his brother. "Fess up."

Stefan turned to face his brother. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh come on, man. I know you better than that. Something's been bothering you all day. Heck, you were the one who wanted to come have a drink."

Stefan shook his head. "Nothing's wrong."

Damon was about to reply, not ready to give up, when a man walked up to the two of them and cut him off. "Do either of you know Elena Pierce?"

"Yep." Damon answered. "You're looking at her boyfriend." Damon smiled.

"You're her boyfriend?" the man said addressing Damon.

"No." Stefan said. "I am. My brother just thinks he is being funny."

"Oh okay." The man hesitated for a second then asked. "Could I speak to you for a second," he threw a glance at Damon. "Alone?"

Stefan knew it was probably a bad idea, but he was curious what this man had to say. Did he know what she was? Was he going to warn Stefan against getting to know her? He stood up and walked out the door and into the alleyway next to the Grill with the other man following him.

He turned around. "So what-" Stefan stopped short when he saw the man's face. It was veiny like he had seen Elena's do and he had somehow grown fangs.

"I was just looking for the Pierce, to send a message, but now I think it would be so much easier to have you do it." The man lunged at Stefan's neck, baring his fangs.

There was a flash as the man was knocked off of him. Stefan scrambled back to his feet. There was Elena and the other man, fighting with fists and kicks, but it was different than anything Stefan had seen before. Every few seconds one of them seemed to move ten times faster than normal, whether they were dodging a punch, or putting extra umph into their kick. Finally Elena managed to pin the man against the wall, holding him by the throat.

"What do you want?" she barked at him.

He managed a smile beneath the blood dripping from his nose and snickered.

Elena pushed him further up the wall and he gasped for breath.

"Alright, alright." He said. She dropped him and he landed on his feet. He took a few seconds rubbing his throat and coughing before he finally stood up. "I come with a message."

"A message from who?"

The guy smiled again. "He says, he knows where you are. He knows what you did and he is coming."

Elena stepped back, looking like she had seen a ghost. The guy sped away, leaving a shocked Stefan and a worried looking Elena.

"What does he mean?" Stefan asked.

Elena shook herself out of whatever trance she had been in and turned to Stefan. "What?"

"What did he mean when he said that? Who is 'he'?" Stefan clarified.

"Nothing. It's nothing." She finally seemed to realize what had just happened. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

"No." Stefan said. "I'm fine. You got here just in time." Stefan hesitated. "Thank you."

"Of course I find you in an alley somewhere."

Stefan and Elena turned toward the front of the alleyway to find the source of the new voice. Standing in front of them was a girl with straight blonde hair, a cute black shirt, skinny jeans, and high heeled boots. Stefan noticed Elena's smile growing.

"Lexi."


	16. August 26th 1864

A/N - Hello again. Thanks for sticking with this story. I have loved all the reviews I've gotten and I love all of you followers. Thank you again for keeping me writing.

Special thanks to for reviewing.

* * *

August 26th 1864:

Elena woke in the forest, probably the same spot she had fallen. She stood up and looked around, trying to get her bearings. It was morning, the next day. It was bright and sunny and Elena didn't like it. She held up her hand to shield her eyes from the bright light and started walking.

Her memories slowly came back to her. How she had gone out to look for Anna, how she had been shot, and then another memory. The memory of her sister, forcing her to drink her blood. Elena knew what was happening. She had seen it happen before. But seeing it happen to someone else and experiencing it for yourself was different.

After walking some time, she came across a road, littered with remains of the previous night's battle. There were quite a few dead men, lying on the road. Elena could smell their blood.

Someone moaned from the other side of the road. "Help me."

Elena rushed over. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"One of the demons bit me. I'm too weak to walk. Please help me get home." Elena nodded and started to lift him off the ground, and then noticed the blood. It was out in the open, sitting there on his neck, waiting for her to take it, and in that moment, Elena didn't want to die. She did the one thing she never wanted to do, and became the monster that she so feared.


	17. Threats and Consequences

A/N - Hello everyone. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thank you for all your reviews, favorites and follows, as well as all of you who just came to check it out.

I am especially thankful to DreaminOfLove22 and Parodychick for their many reviews. You guys are amazing.

* * *

Damon walked dazed back to a seat at the bar. His brother's conversation with that guy had obviously been private, so of course Damon had decided to follow them outside. Damon had hidden around the front corner of the building, listening and watching when he could to everything that happened. The man had been a vampire, and he had attacked Stefan. Damon had been about to jump out and help his brother, when another vampire showed up.

Damon had to do a double take before he realized who the second vampire was. It was Elena. He knew he shouldn't have been surprised, but he hadn't even considered the possibility that Stefan would know about it. He had done everything in his power to keep his little brother away from it all. He had even made him wear vervain.

Being part of the council, Damon was pretty sure that the first thing they would have wanted him to do was call it in. They wanted to know exactly who all the vampires in the town and if they found out about Elena, they would probably kill her. But Damon knew just how much his brother loved her and he couldn't bring himself to call the Sheriff.

* * *

The sun had just set and Katherine was finally standing outside the door of the person she had originally come to this town to see. Normally, Katherine would have gotten straight to the point and threatened someone in order to get what she wanted by now, but this time was different. With her sister in town and a council on the lookout for rogue vampires, Katherine wasn't going to take any chances.

But now it was finally time. Katherine walked up the front steps and knocked on the door. Again, not her normal style, but she needed to be invited in first. There was a moment as someone came to get the door and then it swung open.

In front of Katherine stood a brunette, a few inches shorter than her, with olive skin.

"Hello?" The girl asked.

"Are you Bonnie Bennett?" Katherine asked. After years of wanting this, she needed to make sure she had the right person. Nothing could go wrong.

The girl, Bonnie, nodded. "Yeah, who are you?"

Katherine stared into Bonnie's eyes. "Someone you want to invite in."

Bonnie looked confused. "Why would I want to invite you in?" she asked.

Katherine was slightly taken aback by the fact that Bonnie couldn't be compelled, but she played it off. "Because I have an offer I don't think you will be able to decline."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes. "I don't want to buy anything." She was about to close the door as Katherine rolled her eyes. "You witches. You really are hard to please."

The door swung all the way open, Bonnie suddenly very interested in what Katherine had to say. "What do you want? Who are you?"

Katherine smiled, glad she finally had the witch's full attention. "I want you to do a spell for me."

Bonnie shook her head. "I can't. I'm still learning about all this stuff. My Grams just told me about who I am a few weeks ago. Why don't you ask her for help?"

Katherine sighed, hating the answer to that question. "Look, I need you to make me a daylight ring."

Bonnie's eyes went wide. "You're a vampire"

Katherine nodded.

Bonnie stood resolute in the safety of her doorway. "I won't do anything for you. Witches don't get involved in vampire business."

"Oh well that's a shame. I guess you won't get involved when I kill one of your friends then." Katherine shrugged. "Vampire business and all."

Bonnie stared at Katherine with a look filled with hatred. "I won't do anything for you." The door slammed shut.

Katherine turned and walked down the stairs. "Wrong answer."

* * *

Elena broke into a run as she ran over to her old friend and gave her a giant hug. "Lexi! I can't believe you're here. It's so nice to see you." Lexi hugged her back. Elena pulled away. "What are you doing here?"

Lexi shrugged and smiled. "I missed you." He smile faded and she got a serious look on her face. "Elena, I followed a vamp here. Klaus sent him. I don't know why, but if we know anything about Klaus, it's that nothing he does is good. I wanted to warn you."

Elena nodded. "Yeah, I think I just met him. He gave me a message. Lexi, he said he was coming."

Stefan cleared his throat and Elena remembered that he had no idea who Lexi was. She stepped back and gestured to her blond haired friend. "Stefan, this is my longtime friend Lexi. Lexi, Stefan." Elena wondered she should tell Stefan what Lexi was. She decided that he ought to know, now that he know about her. "She is a vampire too."

Lexi threw a surprised glance at Elena. "He knows what you are?" she asked.

Elena nodded again. "Let's head back inside. I could use a good drink."

The trio headed around the corner and in the front door of the Mystic Grill.

* * *

Katherine done had enough waiting around. She had stalled and stalked. She had a spy in the council and her sister had no idea of her true intention. The Bennett's refusal to help wouldn't last long. The girl was new to the whole business of working with vampires, which provided an interesting opportunity to Katherine. Bonnie didn't know that no one was allowed to help Katherine.

If the Bennett Girl didn't want to help, what she needed was a little push. Katherine had been in Mystic Falls long enough to get an idea about who mattered to who. Bonnie's best friend was Caroline. So maybe what Bonnie needed was a little push to make her realize how dangerous it was to refuse Katherine what she wants.

Katherine walked into the hospital. The fact that she looked like Elena probably helped. She made her way to Caroline's room with no difficulty.

Caroline was laying on the bed watching some show on the TV. "Elena?" she asked when she saw Katherine walk into the room.

"You know, it really is entertaining that so many people mistake me for her." Katherine said to Caroline, who, as the speech continued looked increasingly more confused. "We Pierce's are so different. But you know what, maybe we aren't so different after all. No matter how hard she tries, she is still a vampire. She will and has cracked, and when that happens, that's when we see her true colors. We both want the same thing in the end. To live and love. That's just the Pierce way. We are survivors and we are lovers. We know how to do both. She has her friends, and I have my allies. I will soon have my own ring, thanks to you," Katherine nodded at Caroline at this. "And we will be ready, come what may. The council, Klaus, anything else the universe has to offer, we will be ready."

Katherine finished her speech and looked down at Caroline, who was cowering as far as she could manage to get from Katherine. She obviously thought her visitor was insane.

"Oh Caroline, I'm sorry it has to end like this, but I need to send a message to a certain witch." Katherine reached down and snapped the pretty blonde's neck.

Before anyone could come running, the one hundred and fifty year old vampire was gone.

* * *

End of book 1


	18. Author's note

So that's the end of the first book in this series. The answer to your question is yes, I am writing more books to continue on this story. The next book includes some more of our favorite characters such as possibly a certain teacher, someone's aunt, and perhaps even some modern day action for our favorite original family. I have had SO MUCH FUN writing this story and creating this world and I don't want to end it here. I have quite a few ideas for the next book and I can't wait to get them down. The reason I decided to end this book here is because as I have been writing this, I have been thinking about this story in a TV show type of format, and here is where I felt like the season would end. The first chapter of the next book is now up under the title "The Pierce Reality". Hope you enjoy it! - Theresa82


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